A/N = Well.. I wasn't expecting to update so soon but I couldn't wait. So here you go. Not much I have to say. No warnings for this chapter. I would like to say thanks for all the reviews for my last chapter. I do have a few other things to mention however.
First off, yes I know Harry's suppose to have black hair. However, a lot has changed since he was kidnapped. It will be explained soon. All of their appearances will be explained in a few chapters, after their next trip to Hogwarts. So bare with me for a bit lobger please. Also, before anyone jumps on me, I apologize for how Canada is portrayed here. Like every conflict, there are two sides and it will be explained in bits and pieces as the story progresses. I'm Canadian myself, so do not fear. It's just wizards being wizards.
Hmm... I think that's it. However, I want to pose a question for my readers. Feel free to answer in a review or send me a message with your answer. I won't tell you yes or no however, until it comes up in the story. Which won't be for another couple of chapters. So you have until then to answer.
The question: Which house do you think the six of them will be in?
For the most part I know what I'm doing with them. But it's always nice to know the readers thoughts on the matter. Who knows, maybe if you give me a good enough reasoning, I may change my mind on them. We shall see. I know they haven't had much of a chance to show off yet but each of them will have their own moments in the next chapter. So hopefully it'll get easier to guess. You can also guess as many times as you like as the next chapters go up.
Now, onto the story which you are, of course, dying to read. lol. Enjoy!
Chapter 1 – Arguments and Plots
Several things happened at once.
McGonagall fell off her chair in a dead faint.
Snape gave a yell that sounded suspiciously like "Potter".
Dumbledore blinked in total shock while dropping his wand onto the floor.
And Ginny pulled out a camera from nowhere and snapped a photo before putting it away again.
Harry sighed and sat back down as he wondered how long it would take for the adults in front of him to recover and if they had noticed the picture being taken. Shaking his head, he turned to face his five companions.
"So how long should we give them for questions?"
Julius glanced at his watch and pulled a piece of paper out of one of his pocket. After glancing at it for a few moments, he looked back at his watch before shaking his head. "If we want to get everything done that we planned to today... we can only give them an hour."
Neville smirked at that. "Oh, they really won't like that. The lineage potion takes half an hour to brew."
As Julius put the paper back into his pocket, Ginny nodded her head towards the teachers. Laughing softly to himself, Harry turned back to face them just as McGonagall settled herself back into her chair and Dumbledore picked up his wand.
"Harry Potter was kidnapped seven years ago." She murmured, eyeing him warily.
"Yes and the next year Wings was kidnapped. They were also declared dead four years ago, the same time I was supposedly kidnapped." Ginny replied in an even tone.
"Dude! You guys are dead? I had no idea! Sly, did you know about this?" Julius asked, in a very shocked voice.
"No! They're very lifelike for zombies. I never even had a clue." the girl replied, pretending to scrutinize the other two boys.
Cassiopeia shook her head at their antics before turning back towards the three silent people in front of her. "I would send your Potions dog to start brewing that potion Sir. We have somewhere else to be in an hour."
Snape opened his mouth to snap at her but before he could, Dumbledore put his hand on his arm and shook his head. "Go Severus. The quicker that potion is done, the sooner we can know for sure."
With a snarl, he stood up and swept out of the room, his head held high. As he past her, Dawn hissed softly under her breath. Harry, who had heard, turned and sent her a look, making her quiet down a moment later.
"If you are indeed who you say you are... may I ask what happened and how you came to group up?" the Headmaster asked, peering at him over his glasses.
Harry sighed softly and sat back. He had expected that to be one of the first questions they asked. On the one hand, they didn't want to say much. On the other hand, however, it was a good question to waste time on.
"I was eight when my Aunt took me shopping with her in London. It was the first time I ever went there and the only reason I had gone was because Dudley was home sick and Uncle Vernon had to watch him. So my Aunt needed someone to help carry her bags" Harry paused there, letting the memories wash over him for a moment before speaking again.
"I'm still not exactly sure how it happened. One minute I was walking beside my Aunt and the next I was in a side alley with a hand over my mouth and arms around me." That was partly a lie. He knew exactly what had happened and how. He just wasn't about to tell anyone that. "The person who had me whispered something to me and then I was unconscious. When I woke up, I was in the backseat of a car driving on the wrong side of the road."
Harry couldn't help but smile at that memory. It was one of his fondest memories, though it had been terrifying in the beginning.
"Wrong side of the... they took you to America?"
Ginny sighed and shook her head at the witch. "That would have been stupid. If they had taken him there, someone would have found out and alerted you. No. When he woke up, he was in Canada."
That got them starring again. Which didn't surprise any of them.
"Canada? Those barbarians? No wonder they kidnapped you. They'd do anything to mess up our livelihood."
"I'm not surprised you'd think that Madam. However, you should watch what you say about them. As it is, there are six Canadians in this room with you." Dawn pointed out angrily.
"I see they don't even teach you how to count! Three of you are from Britain."
Harry turned and glared at her. "We have already asked you to stop your assumptions Professor McGonagall. Neville, Ginny, and myself see ourselves as much Canadian as those born to the land are."
"And proud of it." Ginny added with her head held high and her eyes spitting fire.
Julius sighed and turned back to the silent Headmaster. "We came to you on our own free will. We came unarmed, with no adults (which is legally our right) and with only the one request of you to listen to what we have to say before jumping to judgements. If you can not control your Deputy Headmistress, then we must either ask her to leave the room or leave ourselves."
"Now now. There's no need for that."
"There is every need for that. We will not sit here and be treated like children when we have come to you as adults. Come to you first before anyone else may I add. In person instead of owling you. We came here, telling you our true identities as a show of faith. When we could have hidden behind fake identities and you never would have been the wiser."
McGonagall raised an eyebrow at that. "How would you have hidden your true identities from us?"
"We have our ways. After all, you couldn't find a trace of us for the past seven years." Ginny pointed out smugly.
"They probably didn't try to look in Canada. It never would have occurred to them." Neville said.
"Why would we waste time with those undi-"
"That is enough! Minerva! Calm yourself this second or I will ask you to leave. Mr. Malfoy has a point. They have come on their own free will and have told us who they really are. They deserve some courtesy."
The old witch stared at him for a moment before sitting back in her chair and drawing her lips into a thin line. Seeing this, Harry wasted no time in turning the conversation back to the matters at hand.
"Within a few years, the rest of us were gathered. That's all there is to it really."
Dumbledore frowned. "You sound as if you're... grateful to the people who had kidnapped you."
"I grew to see them as my family. Don't bother asking for their names or more details about them. We won't give you any."
"The point is, we are here now. We have come to you, Headmaster, before anyone else to discuss with you about being enrolled into Hogwarts. While in Canada, we did get proper schooling. We can come back later in the week so you can test us and see what levels we are at in our magical education." Julius said, once again using his teaching in diplomacy.
"What of the Ministry and the family of Miss Weasley and Mister Longbottom? They have been worried sick, I assure you. They will want to know you are back before it becomes news. Also, what of your legal guardians?"
Ginny shifted slightly before she sighed and replied, "Wings and I will deal with our families tomorrow. As well as the Ministry. We would appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone else about us yet until we do. As you said, it is best they find out from us and not an outside source."
"As for our legal guardians... you have nothing to worry about. We have everything taken care of. All we need is your approval to join the students on September first and the time you want us to be tested."
Before the Light Lord could respond to Julius, the door opened and Snape walked in with five vials floating behind him and a stack of parchment in his hand. Not commenting on the tense atmosphere or McGonagalls' tight expression, he set the items down and settled himself back on his chair.
After sending his youngest teacher a nod of greeting, Dumbledore turned to the six children and raised his eyebrow. Sighing, they each took a vial and drank it before grabbing a parchment each. Dawn, who couldn't take the potion, watched them with a close eye to make sure it worked as it was suppose to.
No one said anything for the next five minutes. When the time was up, the five kids ran their index finger down the side of their parchment, nicking small paper cuts. As the blood touched it, there was a small flash of light and writing started to appear on them.
Bringing his cut finger up to his mouth to suck on it, Harry handed his paper over to the awaiting adults. On it, written plain as day, was the names of his parents.
"James Potter (Father) and Lily Evans Potter (Mother)"
One by one, the others passed over theirs. Each proving that what they had said was true. After looking over them, Dumbledore nodded and looked at them.
"Welcome back to Britain Mr. Potter. Many people will be glad to see their Savior back among them. As well as two of the other missing children." He said softly, before glancing at the calender on the top of his desk. After a moment, he nodded and looked back up. "I will give you the weekend to inform those who need to know of your return. Provided that the Ministry accepts you and all your paperwork is in order, you may come back for testing Monday morning, the twenty-eighth. We will go from there."
"Good. Now that that is settled... is there anything else you would like to discuss Sir?"
"Nothing that can't wait Mr. Malfoy. We will see you after the weekend. Bright and early."
Nodding, Julius stood up and started heading to the door. The others quickly followed him except for Harry who had faced the adults again.
Leaning forward, he put his hands down on the desk and stared straight into the blue eyes of the most powerful Light wizard in Britain. "I will only say this once. Our relationship is strictly student and Headmaster. If you take one step, just one step, over that line, you will not like the consequences. I did not come back here to be your Golden Boy."
Straightening up, he turned and headed to the door. When he got there, he paused again and glanced over his shoulder. "I suggest you don't bother trying to look for us or track us. An owl with our name can find us but that is it. So I wouldn't waste your time or magic. You will be disappointed."
Without waiting for a reply, The Boy-Who-Lived walked out of the office and met his friends at the bottom of the stairs. Not saying a word, they headed back down to the front doors. When they got there, they left the castle and started heading to the forest.
"What did you tell him when you left?"
Harry smirked as he looked at Ginny. "Told him I couldn't be collared so not to even try of course."
"You think that wise? I mean... shouldn't we have tried to get him on our side?"
"We've been over this Sly. There's no point. He won't work with us. He'll try to control us... try to control me."
The young girl sighed. "You can't blame me for hoping. It would be nice if we had a few adults we could rely on here."
"Oh honey... don't forget... we'll have a lot of people on our side here. We won't be alone." Cassiopeia said, wrapping an arm around the other girls shoulder.
By this point, they were back at the Forbidden Forest. After stepping into the trees, they turned to face each other.
"Well... that was one meeting down. Only how many more to go..." Neville said with a sigh.
Harry waved away the comment. "The rest of them won't be nearly as bad. Now... we all know what else we need to do?"
After getting nods from the other five, Harry glanced at his watch and stepped back from the group. "Good. Then let's get to work. Make sure no one recognizes you and keep an eye out. I wouldn't put it past the old man to have us followed."
"No worries Boss. You can count on us!" Ginny said, sending him a salute before she disappeared.
One by one the others also disappeared until Harry was the last one standing in the forest. With a sigh, he turned to face the school again. It was peaceful, though he knew it wouldn't be like for much longer.
Harry Potter... The Boy-Who-Lived... Britain's saviour... was back.
They had no idea what was about to happen.
Grinning, he turned and disappeared with a soft pop, leaving the forest quiet again.
Ten minutes ago in the Headmaster's office...
Albus Dumbledore sat behind his desk in shock after his guests had left. Harry's last words fluttering through his mind. Frowning, he pushed them away and turned to his two younger allies.
"Minerva... Severus... you know how this changes everything."
They nodded, still trying to get over what had just happened.
"Then you know what we must do."
"Albus... are you sure that is a good idea? You heard what he said."
The wizened wizard gave a soft smile. "Yes but it does not matter. We need to know what he is doing. What happened to him. We need to find out about his friends and the bond they spoke of. Harry must defeat Tom. To do so, he needs our help."
"He is as arrogant as his father. He will get himself killed before even given the chance to go up against the Dark Lord."
Albus nodded slowly as he turned to look out the window, seeing the group of children walking to the forest. "We must make sure he lives Severus. He is our last hope."
"Then we are doomed."
"We still may have a chance, my child. He will be in the school with us. It will be easy to separate him from the others... and once we do... it will be simple to make him listen to me."
Minerva sighed and stood up, giving her mentor a small bow, while murmuring. "I hope you are right... For the wizarding world's sake... I hope you are right."
With that, she turned and swept out of the office, leaving the two males alone in the room.
"I do not like this Headmaster... I do not like this at all."
"I know Severus. However, we have no other option. When he comes in on Monday, we will see how far along he really is. Once we know that, we'll know better how to proceed."
The younger wizard scowled. "I could feel his magic. He is weak. They all are."
"That may be so... but you must remember where he has been these last few years. Who knows what the Canadians have done to him..."
"How dare they come into our country and steal our children. Will they never stop trying to tear up our world?" Severus hissed in disgust.
"They may yet be lying about that still. We do not know enough about what had happened. We can't jump to any conclusions. We must step carefully."
"I don't think his... friends will be persuaded away from him very easily. Especially Mr... Malfoy and the female Weasley."
Albus smiled as he picked up some parchment and a quill. "Leave Miss Weasley to her family. They will deal with her. As for Mr. Malfoy... he will soon find out that knowing the laws and his rights won't help much with his father."
"What of the others? Miss Black will surely cause problems herself when she appears to the public. Though I am glad we won't have to worry about Mister Longbottom." Severus replied, spitting out the last name.
"Ah yes... I am sure his Grandmother will deal with him in the proper manner. I doubt he will even be allowed to attend Hogwarts after what has happened. Miss Black on the other hand... may cause some issues. However, I'm sure she'll have enough trouble with the Ministry."
"And the muggleborn?"
Albus gave a small sigh as he glanced up from the letter he was writing. "She will be... difficult. However, I am sure she will be a Gryffindor. So we won't have much to fear. Her values will take care of her for us."
"How can you be so sure?" the Potions Master asked as he stood up.
"Do you not remember how she responded to Minerva about her blood? How quick she is to jump and defend? Pure Gryffindor she is. We have nothing to fear from her."
"Very well. I will leave you to your letters."
A few moments later found the Headmaster alone in his office, writing. A couple he would send right away, however a few of them would have to wait until the morning. As he wrote, he hummed softly under his breath.
The Boy-Who-Lived was back and it wouldn't be long before he was running to Albus for advice on what to do. He'd be ready for when that day came... even as he helped to push it along.